Past Shadows

A MISTICAL BOOK

 

Jardonn Smith

 

Just in time for the haunting season, MLR Press releases Past Shadows, an historical ghost anthology with three distinct stories from three diverse authors -- with one element in common -- spirits from the past will unite lovers in the story-present.

 

We're talking manlove here, male to male encounters brought on by suggestions from the dead. Sometimes a subtle whispering in the ear will do; others require shouts; some demand physical contact from the ethereal to the living flesh of a man's arm, his cheek, or parts of him where the message certainly will get through.

 

We're also talking PAST shadows, because when I said lovers in the story-present, that time could be the 18th Century of our first tale, Death's Desire by author Stevie Woods, the 19th Century of The Shade on a Fine Day by Charlie Cochrane, or the 1930's Depression of my Green River, with settings in same order of Stevie's English manor, Charlie's parish of Saint Archibald's, and my Works Progress Administration work camp.

 

Hmm... either one of our ghosts is trying to say something to me, or it's the sound of you wringing your hands. Yes, yes, it is you moaning. "Jardonn! How can I learn more about this book? Where can I read excerpts and consider whether or not these ghosts and their manloving beneficiaries deserve my investment of time and expense?"

 

Great. Now you've done it. Our gaseous smart-alecks are going to intercede. They say for me to tell you, "Fear not, faithless mortals. We charge Jardonn to present you with all you require."

 

With a mysterious pressure causing discomfort upon my testicles, I give you green links for two excerpts:

 

For Stevie's Death's Desire, and then scroll to bottom of the MLR Press page for your excerpt link.

 

For my Green River , where you'll find a picture I made related to my story. See that greenish form beside the pier? That's my mistical instigator.  

 

Ah, I am now being rewarded for presenting my useful information. Do you want to know how? I didn't think so.  

 

Through the excerpt links you will find purchasing options for paperback or e-book versions of our Past Shadows, and I also suggest you look very closely at the details and subtle messages within our incredible (in my opinion) book cover, courtesy of MLR Press's Deana Jamroz. Also deserving credit, at least for working with me, is my editor at MLR, Kris Jacen. As always, she pointed out my obvious false-assumptions while skillfully schmoozing my sensitive areas.  

 

Thank you, Kris, Deana, MLR Press (meaning mostly Laura Baumbach), Stevie and Charlie for a book of which I'm proud to be a part. 

 

Jardonn Smith

Collaboration

Collaboration in

TOTAL MELTDOWN

by William Maltese

Having just seen the results of two collaborations, in which I’ve been involved with other authors, reach the book stands … and just before I begin another collaboration with our very own Jardonn Smith, on our period-piece "railroad" novel, GRIT … do let me tell any fellow authors, who may not yet have a clue, that collaborations aren’t the easiest way to go, even if they do seem to offer the advantage of two or more people, each of whom, in theory, only has to write part of a book.

There’s a decided difference, believe me, between joining in an anthology … which is merely you contributing a story to fit an over-all theme, along with other authors … and you teaming up with another author or authors to come together in agreement on characters, character traits, and a coherent single story-line. It is now my experience that writing, like cooking, can see a lot of difficulty arising around too many cooks/authors (and two can sometimes be too many) in the kitchen and/or at the computer keyboard.

In the case of THE GLUTEN-FREE WAY: MY WAY, written with my niece, I thought I had "it" made — no matter everything I had ever heard about the dangers of working with amateurs and relatives. I mean, she and her family had been living gluten-free for several years, and it was merely a case of her telling their story and our providing a few gluten-free recipes, and that was that … right?! The usual major problem of finding an interested publisher had been solved early-on by me, in that Borgo Press had gone to contract on just a proposal. Needless to say, it wasn’t easy at all, in that I ended up writing far more of the book than I originally intended (although, I’m sure the book is a better book because of it) — what with the strain of meeting a deadline placed upon a novice author, and my niece having to deal with an uncle who looked upon a missed deadline as just about the worst sin possible and had no qualms about saying so (which didn’t help the situation and probably, truth be told, acerbated it — sigh!).

http://www.wildsidebooks.com/MALTESE-William_c_547.html

TOTAL MELTDOWN, done with Raymond Gaynor (aka Gary Martine), was easier. My co-author on this one, after all, had published several previous books, knew all about deadlines, and he’d written over 300 pages of this one before I joined in. As with THE GLUTEN-FREE WAY, I persuaded Borgo Press to go to contract before this one was finished; so my main predicament turned out to be my having entered the writing process so late in the game that the characters, character traits, and plot were pretty much in place, all as complicated as any novel dealing with the complications of international politics and espionage and treason and finance. Admittedly, it took me a good deal of time just to figure out who was who, where was where, what was what. That we managed to achieve what we did was only because neither of us looked upon anything we wrote as engraved permanently in stone … which made me less fearful when I started chopping (three hundred pages to a final 155), and shifting character’s sexuality from bisexual to homosexual, from homosexual to heterosexual. Had Raymond put up major complaint, instead of merely commenting that I had "taken his blond-haired, blue-eyed innocent baby boy and converted him into a dark-haired, black-eyed terror", we might still be trying to hash things out, to this very day, instead of basking in the sheer pleasure of having the book now on the bookstands.

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Total-Meltdown/Raymond-Gaynor/e/9781434403551/?itm=1&usri=1

How will Jardonn and I fare in our about-to-begin collaboration on GRIT? Only time will tell, but I have high hopes. Our relationship goes back a ways. We’re professionals, each of us well aware of the writing process, each other’s sensibilities and the existent time-line. Wish us luck!

Giving It Away

Looks like a book cover, doesn't it? WRONG! It's a banner announcing two things: the launch of a new web site; and a ton of free stuff you could win as a result. Not crappy stuff, but useful items like books, clothing, and dazzling candles made by the talented mistress of wax, Jfay.

It's her web site featuring her custom-made designs of book-themed, scented candles, and to celebrate its beginnings she's lined up a ton of freebies which you could win simply by entering at the new site.

Here's the address:

http://www.wickdreads.com/

Here's the page with details for entry, dates of the drawings, and the list with pictures of prizes.

http://www.wickdreads.com/wickdgiveaway.htm

Now, I know you men would love a pair of boxers inviting those who see them to SUCK. And what woman wouldn't enjoy expressing BITE ME to her lover by way of a sexy thong? Those are just two of the items you'll find out of the 16 drawings, and they begin October 16, running through Halloween.

Jfay will begin accepting your entries tomorrow, September 15, 2009, so click on over to the Wick'd Reads site and give yourself a chance to be happy.

New Cover for the Upcoming MUTE WITNESS

My next full-length novel, Mute Witness, should be out later this year from MLR Press. I have recently been working with the cover art to put a face on this very serious story (probably one of the most serious I've written to date) and we have finally decided on a concept.

Covers are one of the most trying and difficult parts of writing a book, even if you have no input into the design yourself. That old chestnut, "you can't judge a book by its cover" is probably one of the wrongest things I've ever heard. People can, and do, judge books by their covers...and people and other things too. We see with our eyes and this is how we form our first impressions. So if a book doesn't make that critical first impression on you, you will probably pass it by. And if a book has a simply dazzling cover, you may be more intrigued about the book than if it was fronted by a mediocre cover.

I hope the cover for Mute Witness makes a good first impression. I'd love it if you'd leave a comment below and let me know what you think.

Here's the back cover copy (which is also really cool, maybe even cooler than the front, since it's just the back of the boy's head). Read it and see if you think the cover does the storyline justice.

I hope you won't stay mute (groan!) on whether this cover would inspire you to check out the book inside.

Back cover copy:

Sean and Austin have the perfect life. Their new relationship is only made more joyous by weekend visits from Sean’s eight-year-old son, Jason.

And then their perfect world shatters.

Jason is missing.

When the boy turns up days later, he has been horribly abused and has lost the power to speak. Small town minds turn to the boy’s gay father and his lover as the likely culprits.

Sean and Austin struggle to maintain their relationship amid the innuendo and the very real threat that Sean will, at the very least, lose the son he loves. Meanwhile, the real villain is much closer to home, intent on ensuring the boy’s muteness is permanent.

Mute Witness should be out in late fall.

Free for the Taking

Did you know I posted a free-to-read E-Book on the brand new site, 1RomanceEbooks? Of course you didn't, because I haven't told anybody until now.

As you can tell from the cover and title, it has to do with a gladiator. He's the after-dinner entertainment. His act? Hanging naked from a cross.

A feast for the eyes, and for the right price, a feast for the mouth and vagina, too, depending on how many cisterces husbands are willing to shell out so their wives can partake in the crucified hero's heavenly body.

Call it a fundraiser. Call it extra income for the gladiator's owners. Best of all, call it free to download and read by clicking HERE.

A Radiofest Chatfest

Hello, everybody.

This is Jasper McCutcheon inviting you to join these ladies,

along with my good friend and amazing candle artist, Jfay, for an evening of web-radio fun.

But wait, it gets better...

While the Parawomen and Jfay talk ghosts and vampires and book-themed candles, YOU and I and Jardonn and a bunch of other erotica authors will be text chatting at the same place.

So, YOU might ask: What other authors? Hopefully somebody more entertaining than Jasper and Jardonn. To which I reply: That's a tall order, but we think we can do it. How's this?

Dorlana Vann

William Maltese

Selena Ilyria

Belladonna Drakul

Jo from Vampire Wear

Karen Michelle Nutt

Like me now? Good! Here's what you do. Go to BlogTalkRadio and register free and easy

HERE

Then, show up

HERE

on THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 3 at 6 p.m. Central Daylight Time.

Turn on your speakers, log in to text chat, and badly misbehave with the rest of us.

***

While we chat, Jfay, the wick'd woman of wick'd wax candles, will be telling all about her

WICK'D READS

web site, where she hosts some of the hottest new literary releases on the scene today, as well as her wick'd book-themed candles. She's an incredible wizard of wax, and her candles have been featured on the CBS News "Sunday Morning" Show.

Jfay will also be announcing her new upcoming Giveaway Extravaganza, WHAT A WICK'D WAY TO BURN, which will include some worthwhile prizes (not worthless, throwaway crap) from her Wick'd authors and marketing partners.

Tune in and get your typing fingers limbered up. Invite your friends so you and they can chat with all of us and learn about possible prizes in your future. This is a freedom-of-speech chat. We will talk erotica, sex, and maybe even some sleaze, and we (that means you, as well) will use whatever language we please.

So, PLEASE, come join the fun Thursday, Sept. 3 at 6 p.m. CDT.

Erotic Crux

Since my first self-published Jasper McCutcheon book, The Crux of It -- Erotic Tales of Men on the Cross and the Women Who Put Them There, seemed to garner some interest amongst folks who are in to erotic crucifixion, I thought I'd submit one of the three stories to an e-book publisher for consideration. Each of the three is unique in storyline and setting, with the common subject that at least one man (most times several) is hanging naked from a cross with his handsome pecker ripe for the sucking. I chose the longest of the three and sent it to an e-publisher.

Their reply was that my story was more funny than erotic, which of course could be interpreted in at least two ways. Maybe it was their polite way of saying my story was a joke; or perhaps they didn't think sharp wit and smart-alecky humor had any place in a tale of sex. Either way, I like it when my main man, Pete Radcliffe, has the balls to toss out humorously insulting quips, even when he's bound and naked and enduring interrogations of female hands, lips, tongues and twats. I figured I'd just keep submitting the damn thing until somebody out there got what I was trying to do.

Lo and behold, an angel appeared via my inbox. A man representing 1RomanceEBooks asked if I'd like to post a story or two for purchase on his brand-new E-Book site. "Hell, yes!" typed I, and I got busy making a book cover for my Black Pouch Crusader. Here's the Viewing and Purchase Link.

Now, part two. You will find a text excerpt at the 1RomanceEBook.com site, but I prefer audio excerpts using my Jasper McCutcheon voice, and there's one free for the listening on my Jardonn's Erotic Tales site. Link to the page is HERE, and the title is Love on a Rack.

So, all you hero worshipers out there, hear the audio, and then buy my E-book. Am I being too subtle in my purpose?